Gavin Degraw – Make a move

Gavin Degraw – Make amove. Stuck in a netherworld of near-hits, Gavin DeGraw decided it was time to make a bold move for his fifth album, broadening his soul-inflected rock on Make a Move. The change is apparent from the start, when the lead single “Best I Ever Had” stomps to a beat borrowed from folk-rockers the Lumineers and the title track struts like Maroon 5. After that, Make a Move settles down a bit, returning to the loping classic rock gait that brought DeGraw fame ten years prior. He still flirts with the present — “Need” is a cool, slick piece of Europop; “Every Little Bit” and “Different for Girls” demonstrate that either he or his producers have been listening to the savvy new wave appropriations of Bruno Mars — and these modern fashions fit him well, but he seems most comfortable whenever he’s sticking closest to the sounds that made him, whether it’s the crunching closer “Leading Man” or a ballad as sweet and simple as “I’m Gonna Try.” It is to his credit that Makes a Move doesn’t seem incoherent as it flits between his past and present; he’s a smooth operator, happy to sell these songs with a smile, eager to see them climb up the charts.

After leaving Berklee and relocating to Manhattan in March 1998, Gavin almost immediately began making substantial career inroads, gradually and organically laying the groundwork for a musical career. “I kept having small successes,” he recalls, “just things like applause from small audiences or people saying they’d heard about me. Those tiny bits of recognition were fuel for me to continue and made me feel like I was on the right track.

Within a few months of his arrival, Gavin made his way into the Ron Grant and Friends open-mic night at Wilson’s, the noted upper west side restaurant inside the Lucerne hotel. After wowing the audience, the next day the night manager and talent coordinator Shar Thompson introduced Degraw to the club’s owner, Debbie Wilson. Wilson signed on as his manager and almost immediately, word of the talented newcomer began to spread through New York’s music community, and the quality of his performances lived up to the buzz.

“When I first heard Gavin perform, I turned to Debbie (his manager) and said I need to sign this guy right now, says Randy Sabiston, Senior Director of A&R at Warner Chappell. “Gavin is a truly special songwriter and as a publisher, I didn’t need to mull it over in my head; it was instant, a no-brainer.” Early on, Gavin was offered a deal by a major label. Rather than succumb to the obvious temptation, he chose to decline the offer and continue his development as a songwriter and performer, while paying the rent by working as a waiter and newsstand clerk. He eventually signed a record deal with Clive Davis and his J Records imprint (home of Santana as well as R&B singers Alicia Keys and Angie Stone).

DeGraw’s second album, the self-titled Gavin DeGraw was released on May 6, 2008. Ahead of this, its single “In Love with a Girl” was released on February 12, 2008. The second U.S. single “Cheated On Me” released in the US on September 30, 2008. This was followed by the Life From Soho album, released on November 7, 2008, featuring mostly tracks from Gavin DeGraw.Gavin DeGraw debuted at No. 1 on the digital sales chart and ranked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart.

DeGraw’s third album, Free, was released March 31, 2009.DeGraw made Free in less than two weeks at the Brooklyn studio of his producer, Camus Celli. DeGraw included some songs on the album that he wrote very early in his career. Which have evolved over time, songs such as “Dancing Shoes” and “Glass”. The debut single from the album, “Stay”, was released on March 11, 2009.Free has been described as “recorded versions of his live favourites“.

DeGraw’s fourth album, Sweeter, was set to release on August 9, 2011, but was pushed back to September 20, 2011. The album features many tracks co-written with other artists. The first single “Not Over You” released on iTunes in June. The track was co-written and produced by Ryan Tedder and was said to be inspired by Kyle Craig. “Not Over You” is his first song to reach the top spot on the Adult Pop Songs. Sweeter contains collaborations from producers including Butch Walker, Eric Rosse, and Ron Aniello; alongside another co-written title track, “Sweeter” with Andrew Frampton.

The album was recorded in many locations including Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Walker’s Space in Venice and the Henson Recording Studios.Sweeter is DeGraw’s first album released under RCA Records, all three of his previous albums were released under J Records. DeGraw went on to release an acoustic album based mostly on songs from Sweeter. The iTunes Session album features seven tracks and a 30-minute interview.

On June 18, 2013, DeGraw released the first single from his fifth studio album, “Best I Ever Had”.Degraw’s fifth, and most recent studio album, Make a Move, was released October 15, 2013.[26] During that year, he supported Train across their series of US shows; The Script also appeared in several of those shows.